Mil Done Right #1 – Stu’s Block II CQBR

Until a year ago, I wouldn’t have given a mil build a second glance. I had absolutely no appreciation for them.

Where was the challenge? Where was the creativity? Where were the personal touches and clever stylistic twists? Everything was mapped out for the builder. The parts had already been selected for them, through military procurement tenders and by bureaucrats in committees. Everything was a ‘cookie cutter’ reproduction, wasn’t it?

Well, sorry, no. I was wrong. I just didn’t have the knowledge back then to inform a credible analysis and robust understanding.

The turning point for me was when I started to realise the dedication, sacrifice and discipline which goes into Mil Done Right. I began to understand the subtleties – the small details which actually said so very much. I became inquisitive about why they’d been selected and what they signified. I grasped how time consuming it was to review the empirical evidence on which Mil Done Right is based; how challenging it was to source appropriate parts and to embrace an RS > airsoft mindset. What’s more, I saw how big a compromise it was to, well, compromise. To a great mil build architect, compromise is soul destroying and undermines the core values of the entire Mil Done Right exercise.

For me, one of the most important aspects of Mil Done Right is the way in which ‘in the wild’ pics are sifted, interpreted and integrated into the build. That for me is the personal touch, the creativity, the art. The ability to deliver subtle differentiation in such a highly constrained environment is not to be underestimated – when Done Right. And that’s the big difference between Done Right and Done Wrongly – subtlety…and taste. That goes for civilian builds, too. There’s no exception just because you have a blank canvas.

To illustrate Mil Done Right, I chose a Tier 1 example where I was privileged enough to be included in pre-build discussions. The interesting thing about this build is that it’s Stu from Project PTW‘s personal Block II CQBR. I think it shows quite clearly that not only does Stu care about the builds he curates for customers, he also cares about what he uses himself. It also shows good taste.